Spring is just around the corner in France bringing a wealth of new local produce to prepare dishes with.
Cheese is no exception as, despite some types being available year-round, many are only available for limited periods (or taste better at certain times).
Online cheesemonger la boite du fromager provides a monthly round-up of the best in-season cheeses to eat, which we review each month.
Below we look at the offerings for March.
Fresh goat's cheese take centre-stage
The arrival of March heralds the end of winter, with animals beginning to graze on pastures once more.
“Thanks to the new grass and flowering pastures of the season, the milk [from this time] has a fairly subtle aroma,” the cheesemongers say.
To benefit from these new flavours cheeses which are aged for a short time are recommended.
This is in contrast to previous months where cheeses aged for a long period (retaining summer flavours) were amongst those best-suited.
In addition the cheeses are more varied. Instead of the list being dominated by cow’s milk cheese (the case for recent months) there are multiple goat cheeses making the list.
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Rocamadour
The first cheese recommended is Rocamadour, well-known unpasteurised goat's cheese from the south-west of France.
The cheese comes from Alpine or Saanen goats, and is aged for an extremely short amount of time, in some cases as little as 12 days (although it can be aged for up to six months to develop more complex flavours).
This short aging allows the cheese to present the first notes of spring quicker than many contemporaries.
It is sold in small, flat round wheels, measuring only around 5cm in diameter.
Often consumed hot or in salads when not aged extensively, the cheese has benefitted from AOC status since 1996.
It is believed to be one of the oldest cheeses still consumed in France, with reports of it being made in northern France as far back as the 6th century.
The cheese is often produced in a heart shape, although can be made in more standard formats up to 400g in weight.
There are stories of the cheese being given as gifts during the Hundred Year’s War: local women reportedly gave English soldiers the cheese in a heart shape during end of year festivals as a sign of affection, potentially where the unique shape originates from.
It has since remained popular in the UK, and is often exported across the Channel. Historically farmers supplied the cheese to Harrods.
It is matured for around eight to 10 weeks before being sold, and also benefits from an AOC label.
In 2019, over 1,600 tonnes of the cheese was produced – around 400 tonnes by fermiers – and it is a popular choice for cheeseboards, especially those showcasing Norman produce.
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Crottin de Chavignol
The final cheese recommended for the month is another goat’s cheese offering in Crottin de Chavignol.
Produced in the Loire Valley since the 16th century, it is similar to Rocamadour in that it is a small cheese with a white/ivory rind.
However, it is aged for longer periods (up to four weeks) allowing for stronger flavours, and has a more elongated shape.
The cheese has AOC status – first earned in 1976 – and must be made in a radius around the village of Chavignol that stretches into the Cher, Nièvre and Loiret departments.
The village itself has less than 200 inhabitants, meaning there are more communes where the cheese can be made than there are people in Chavignol.
It is often served with Sancerre wine (also emblematic of the Loire valley) – much of the land where goats that produce the cheese now graze was previously used for vineyards until a phylloxera outbreak destroyed vines.
Less than 1,000 tonnes of the cheese is produced annually.
